Veggies and Carrots (Teaser)
by Shikamaru'sLove
Summary: After an incident with a sandwich, Bulma has banished Vegeta from the gravity chamber until he apologized, yeah like that is gonna happen! So after sulking in the woods for a while, he finally decides to start training. But, mid-way through his workout, he hears the soft sounds of a sobbing child and, curiously, he investigates...not the full thing yet, but its coming!
1. Teaser

The black-haired man trudged through the woods, cursing Kakarot with every step. If the little idiot had just shut up about the missing sandwich, then that damned blue-haired woman wouldn't have screeched at him about it. It wasn't the first time that he had eaten the sandwiches that were mysteriously left out on the counter, but now that Bulma knew, he was banned from the gravity room for a week. Now, he was stuck walking through the woods to clear his head and find a place to train in the meantime. He stopped when he got to a clearing that looked promising. He began to power up and let his pent up rage loose. Stupid goody two shoes Kakarot! He just told on him like they were children! Shooting kai blasts at the trees, Vegeta cackled at the birds as they flew up and away from the scene, screeching angrily.

The warrior was about to start again when he heard a sound. It was a small sound, not one that human ears could easily pick up. It sounded like a sob, which had the saiyan curious; it was much too quiet and delicate to be any woman he knew, it was almost similar to a child's cry. He followed the sound deeper into the woods. The sobbing grew louder as he got farther and farther from his training space. When he finally turned into another small clearing, Vegeta froze.

She couldn't have been more than four, with long black hair and her face buried into her knees. The girl was curled into herself against the trunk of a huge willow tree, sobbing loudly. The crying child was not what left him frozen in his tracks; her tail was curled around herself. She was a _saiyan_ child. Whether or not she was a whole or half did not matter at the moment, she was there and, looking around, Vegeta confirmed that she was alone.

The saiyan prince felt kind of bad to just leave a sobbing child in the middle of the woods alone, especially a _saiyan_ child that could possibly continue the race one day. As if sensing being watched, the girl's head poked up, revealing big green eyes bright with tears. He silently cursed that he had been seen; it was too late for him to leave now.

Sighing, Vegeta took a few steps towards her, very carefully to see what she would do. She just stared at him with wide eyes until he was halfway to the tree. It was then that her eyes hardened and a growl erupted from her throat. He stopped and smirked, mildly impressed, "What is a little girl like you doing out here all by yourself?" Vegeta kept his voice soft, so as not to scare the poor thing.

The fur on her tail rose like hackles on a dog and she bared her teeth, growled once more; a warning. The man tilted his head and frowned, "Where are your parents?" He asked, watching as her scowl fell and she leant back against the tree, looking down. "I see…" He sighed, closing the distance between them and knelt down before her.

"Vegeta!" A loud voice called from above. The girl jumped and like a scared animal, scampered up the trunk, disappearing into the leaves. Vegeta's eye twitched and he turned, "Dammit, Kakarot!" The confused saiyan landed just a couple feet from the willow, "What? Bulma sent me to find you, she was worried." The princes' eye twitched once more and a growl of his own ripped itself from his chest, "That woman has no right to be worried about _me_, it's _you_ that she should be worried about! You told on me like a child, Kakarot!" He snarled, looking about ready to pounce onto the man. Kakarot shook his head and returned the glare, "It's not polite to steal someone's food, Vegeta!" The saiyan prince scoffed, "As if you're one to talk, you eat everything!" The warrior's glare increased but his retort froze on his tongue. He locked eyes with the girl, who was almost nose to nose with him. She was hanging from a high tree limb by her tail, "Carrot." She poked the man's nose lightly and then, without confirmation, she turned her gaze to Vegeta, "Veggie." Her voice was soft and musical. She pointed to herself, "Kumi."

The two warriors were quiet during the exchange and stared at the girl in amazement. Her green eyes were no longer sparkling with tears or fear, but curiosity and excitement that could only be found in the eyes of a child. Kakarot was the first to break the silence, "How old are you, Kumi?" he asked, gently removing her finger from pressing against his nose. The girl wore a thoughtful expression as she climbed down the branches. She seemed to have reached a conclusion, because she held up a hand, all her fingers splayed widely. "I'm four!" She proclaimed proudly, still holding those five fingers up as proud as could be. The man regarded her with curious onyx eyes; he opened his mouth to ask a question when the sound of tree limbs being hacked at reached their ears. Kumi's emerald eyes widened and a whimpering noise escaped her mouth as she attempted to rush back up the tree. Vegeta caught her arm and she tried desperately to pull away, "Come on, kid."

But once the slashing sound grew in volume, she allowed herself to get pulled into the air, "What are you so afraid of?" The man mused quietly, settling into the leaves, Kakarot beside him. Two small power levels were nearing them and the girl shook, pressing her small face into Vegeta's neck. The saiyan ignored it but held her protectively as two forms appeared where they had been seconds ago.

Two men in black suits and hat looked around. The taller one had a strange beeping device in his hands, "It's close, but I don't see anything." He said in a gravelly voice. The shorter one scoffed, "It's hiding! You have to actually have to _look_ for the stupid monkey." Vegeta bristled at the familiar insult, '_They're looking for her._' He glanced down at the shaking child in his arms, '_But, why?_' He looked over at Kakarot, who nodded and touched the man's shoulder before putting two fingers to his forehead.

OoOoO

When they had arrived back at Bulma's place, Krillin was there training with Tien and Chiaotzu. Upon seen the child in Vegeta's grasp, they didn't know whether to laugh or be worried for the poor toddler. The saiyan prince growled at them when they came close and received an angered look from Bulma. She was sitting on the couch as Goku explained their predicament. She agreed to do a quick checkup of the girl but as she went to reach for her, Kumi cowered and gripped Vegeta's shirt tighter with her tiny fingers.

He scowled at the girl but made no effort to remove her from his person, following her to the lab. Though, he told Kakarot to see if he could track those men from before. Bulma didn't miss the way his eyes softened when he looked at her, however minute it was, and she smiled softly to herself as she busied herself with getting everything ready for Kumi's checkup.

Bulma pointed to the cushioned examination table, "You can set her down there." The man nodded and sat the girl onto the table, but the girl's grasp didn't let up. Vegeta sighed, "Kid, you'll be fine, let go." The girl growled and held on tighter. Gently squeezing her hand away from his shirt, the man sighed again and motioned to the wall with his chin, "I'll be right over there." This seemed to calm the girl and she let go of him, allowing him to stand against the wall a few feet from her.

The girl sat warily watching the blue haired woman as she gathered instruments and readied machines. Kumi's tail swished back and forth in irritation and her muscles were tense as if ready to run at any moment. Bulma turned and smiled, holding up a stethoscope. The toddler growled and the fur on her tail rose. The woman's smile didn't falter, "I'm just going to check your heartbeat, see?" She motioned Vegeta forward, he seemed skeptical at first but obliged. She placed the ear tips in her ears and the diaphragm (the round bit) on his chest. Kumi watched, he didn't look like he was in pain or anything…she decided that since Veggie trusted the blue lady then so did she. The fur on her tail went down and her green eyes lit up. She pointed to her ears and then to Bulma, "Kumi try?" Her voice filled with curiosity.

Bulma smiled and removed the ear pieces and helped the girl put them in. The girl stood on the table to reach Vegeta's chest. She gently placed the diaphragm to his chest and giggled at the sound of his heartbeat, loud and strong in her ears. The man smirked and removed the medical instrument from her grasp, "Your turn." She nodded and sat still for Bulma to listen. The woman wrote something down on a clipboard, "Now, I need to listen to your lungs." The girl cocked her head to the side, confused. Bulma turned Vegeta around and placed the diaphragm on his back, "Breathe in." He grumbled but did as instructed, "Breathe out." Again, he did as he was told. Kumi jumped up, "My turn!" She turned around for the blue woman. Bulma giggled at the girl's eagerness and listened to Kumi's breathing.

Next, she had the toddler stand on the scale and took her height and weight. Then, demonstrated the hearing and vision test on Vegeta; she shinned the light into his eyes and ears. Again, Kumi decided to trust that Veggie was in no pain and allowed Bulma to check her eyes and ears. She wrote on her clipboard and smiled. The tests that followed went just as smoothly, if Kumi seemed hesitant, Vegeta demonstrated first and after deeming it safe, the toddler eagerly obliged.

It wasn't until Bulma had to take a blood sample that Kumi started to look scared. Vegeta understood, he didn't like needles either, hell, Kakarot screamed every time he even looked at one. He rolled up his sleeve and looked at the woman. She hesitated, "Are you sure?" He just nodded and sat on the table next to the girl. Bulma tied the tourniquet around his bicep and found a vein. She inserted the needle and drew the blood. He winced but only enough to show Kumi that it hurt a little, seeing no reason to lie to the girl. Bulma retrieved the syringe and placed a square of gauze on his forearm before putting a bandage on it. She untied the tourniquet and put the sample in a vial.

When Bulma left to get another syringe, Kumi touched the bandage on Vegeta's arm, "Hurt?" The man nodded, "Only a little bit." He watched as she traced the bandage softly. She bent her head and kissed it, "All better?" She smiled up at him. He looked shocked, and then he smiled and patted her head, "Yeah, all better."

Bulma stepped back into the room with a fresh needle and looked at Vegeta, "You want to talk to her so she'll be distracted?" She asked, tying the tourniquet around Kumi's much smaller bicep. The prince nodded, "Kid?" The girl looked up, "Do you want to hear a story?" She nodded excitedly, causing him to smirk, "Once there was a boy, a prince who lived in a castle with his father. The boy was spoiled and wanted everything for himself. His mother passed away before she could teach him how to care for others besides himself and his father only taught him to rule with fear and without mercy-"

"Was there a princess?"

Her question had caught Vegeta off guard and for a moment he forgot who he was talking to. He looked at Kumi who was looking up at him expectantly, her green eyes full of wonder and delight at the story. He nodded and looked up, "Of course there was. She was a beautiful princess with long and flowing blue hair. She taught the spoiled prince how to be kind to others and that to be a good ruler did not necessarily mean that you had to be feared."

"Oh! Did they get married?" Kumi asked excitedly. The man grunted, "No, they didn't but-"

"Alright, all done." A flustered Bulma almost shouted, breaking the calm that had descended upon the room during Vegeta's story. She turned, "I'll let you know the results of her blood tests as soon as they're done." And with that, she left the two saiyans sitting on the examination table, staring after her in confusion.


	2. Important Note

Hey guys! I'm really proud of what I have so far of this fic and I'm really glad that its getting so much attention. I love that you guys love this! But I thought to let you know a few things:

1. Don't follow the story, follow me.  
This is because I will be taking the teaser down and putting up the fic when its done. :)

2. When the full story is put up, don't skip the first part just because you already read it. I'm going to be editing the hell out of what I already have, changing a few things here and there and fixing things like plot holes that shouldn't be there...hehehe

But overall nothing major should change just thought I would warn you guys!

Cause you make me happy and I love each and every one of you :D

I don't know exactly when I'll be done with the fic since I have AP classes and senior stuff to worry about, and not to mention that Winter guard season just started and will be taking over my Saturdays and some Fridays, which are normally my fic days but not to worry! It _will_ be done!

Until Next time lovlies,

(Hopefully soon if time allows)

~Shikamaru'sLove


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